"Ronan O'Gara was pitch-side on Thursday night in Paris, so he got a close-up view of France's mauling of Ireland. When he read Andy Farrell's quotes about his team lacking "fight" and "intent", he could empathise with the Ireland coach because he's been trying to regenerate his La Rochelle team for two seasons."
"That job gives him a great appreciation of what French rugby has to offer in terms of strength in depth. And he believes that Ireland are lacking the resources to compete at the top level when they're missing so many frontline players."
France delivered a dominant victory over Ireland in Paris, exposing clear shortcomings in the Irish performance. Ireland displayed a lack of fight and intent during the match. La Rochelle's multi-season regeneration highlights the depth and recruitment strength present at French club level. French rugby benefits from considerable strength in depth across its player pool and clubs. Ireland currently lacks sufficient resources and squad depth to remain competitive at the highest level when numerous frontline players are unavailable. Replacement quality and the ability to rotate personnel underpin French consistency at international level.
Read at Independent
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